Montreal Canadiens: Three Stars vs Ottawa Senators

Montreal Canadiens games heading into last night have left little reason for optimism. They had lost five in a row, including two to the Senators who were back in town for another contest with the Habs.

It would be the fifth meeting of the season thus far, with the Canadiens only coming out on top in one of their first four contests. Combine that with the fact the Habs were just 3-5-0 in their first eight home games and it didn’t give fans a great feeling heading into last night.

Early in the first period when Joel Armia took a double minor penalty for high sticking, fans were pretty much accepting a one goal deficit.

However, they were able to kill off both sides of the double minor penalty without giving up a goal. Carey Price made a few solid saves to keep the Senators off the board early and then the Canadiens were able to take over control of the game. They had several chances but Sens third string netminder Joey D’Accord was up to the task.

Though the Habs had sustained pressure for much of the second half of the period, the teams went to their dressing rooms with the game scoreless after one period of play.

Things got a little more interesting in the second period. The Canadiens got a power play midway through after struggling to get many shots on net early in the frame. A nice play by Corey Perry at the side of the net set up Brendan Gallagher at the top of the crease and he slammed the puck into the net before getting smacked in the face with a high stick.

The Canadiens took a 1-0 lead and also received a four minute power play. They were able to extend their lead to 2-0 when Jeff Petry hammered a puck past Sens goaltender Joey D’Accord on that man advantage.

The Sens pulled within one late in the period when Artem Zub did his best Jeff Petry impression by walking in off the right point and beating Carey Price under the blocker to make it 2-1.

The third period was an absolute snooze fest, but that is exactly what the Canadiens needed. To bust out of a five game losing streak, it was nice to see the Habs could shut things down defensively, and keep the losing team from penetrating the Habs zone to create chances.

The shots on goal in the third period were just 5 to 5, but when you are clinging to a one goal lead that is perfect. Price stopped all five and Tyler Toffoli sealed the win with an empty net goal.

Carey Price

Carey Price hasn’t entered many regular season games in the past decade facing as much scrutiny as he is right now. His stats this season have been far worse than we are accustomed to seeing from the veteran netminder and it has a lot of fans worried about the salary and length of his monstrous contract.

Bringing in a reliable backup like Jake Allen was supposed to allow Price to be more rested and at the top of his game on a more regular basis. It seems to have had the opposite effect, as Price has been resting more often, but has not been at the top of his game at all this season.

However, last night was much closer to his best effort than we have seen recently.

Price didn’t need to be vintage, Hart Trophy winning, game stealing Carey Price. He just needed to be steady when called upon and he was up to the task. He looked like he was moving more calmly and confidently across his crease and made several saves where he had to travel a great distance, but was in just the right spot to make the save.

Stopping pucks shot by NHL players is never easy. So, when a goaltender makes it look easy, you know they are playing their angles perfectly and are challenging the shooters appropriately. That’s what Price did last night. Most of his saves looked routine, but many weren’t as routine as they appeared, he was just in the right spot.

The Senators had 27 shots on goal and beat Price once. He was solid early in the game as the Canadiens needed to kill off a double minor penalty in the first period, and he made the few saves he needed to in the third period to get the victory.

Jeff Petry

The Montreal Canadiens most reliable and consistent defenceman this season has been Jeff Petry. He signed a four-year contract extension before the season began and that new cap hit of $6.25 million is starting to look like a bargain.

Once again, Petry played a top four role, was used in all situations and excelled no matter what scenario was playing out. Him and his regular partner, Joel Edmundson, shut down the opposition while moving the puck up ice to Habs forwards in transition, and in the second period, Petry drove the bus offensively.

With the Canadiens on a power play, Petry was playing the quarterback position. He made a nice pass down low to Corey Perry at the side of the net and the veteran winger quickly got the puck to Brendan Gallagher in front who knocked in the Habs first goal of the night.

Two minutes later, with the Habs on another man advantage, Petry got the puck at the right point and moved into the slot. He unleashed a slap shot that beat Joey D’Accord and gave the Canadiens a 2-0 lead.

Petry would add an assist on the empty net goal to give him a three point night in the win.

Petry played well over 20 minutes, as he does every night, was great at both ends of the ice, and once again showed he is the best blue liner on the Canadiens roster. He is now up to 21 points in 21 games which puts him tied for the league lead among all defencemen in scoring.